Recovery in Process - Arkansas

I had a large amount taken out of my abdomen,...

6 Aug 2012

I had a large amount taken out of my abdomen, flanks, chest, and back on August 3, 2012. I woke up in terrible pain, but I am a tall, large-frame person so I think I was just under medicated a tad in terms of pain medication. It was not big deal, because the doctor and his staff were/are awesome.

I elected to have the surgery because I was ashamed of my body with my shirt off. At one point I lost a lot of weight but still had excess fat. Admittedly, I have gained a lot back and have work to do post-surgery, but I want the excess fat gone. My personal goal is to be able to take my shirt off in the pool. -fairly simple.

I will say at the outset that I believe it is worth it, although I am not even a week post-surgery. I can already see a great improvement in my body, and the swelling and bruising have not even gone away yet. I will have little work to do to get my trunk where it needs to be, but I will focus on my legs and arms.

I had/have pretty nasty bruising under my arms, on my flanks, and in my pubic area, but the bruises are subsiding. Swelling is going down a tad. The soreness is still an issue for me, but that of course is in no way the doctor's fault. As I mentioned before, he took out a large quantity of fat.

Daily life is harder at this point. I have trouble getting up and sitting down, but once I get in a position, I can hold it fairly comfortably. The compression garment is by far the worst part of the experience. I am a very picky sleeper and need 100% comfort to sleep well. The garment aggravates me in general without even considering aspects of the surgery (I discovered there is no difference in pain even with the garment off). I have not gotten a full night's sleep since my surgery, but again the gain is worth the cost.

Overall, I underestimated the extent to which I would be sore. I honestly did not take the doctor and his staff too seriously, but they were definitely right! In summary, here are the pros and cons, respectively: something to look forward to, better moral, amazing results thus far / extreme soreness, bad bruising, pain, anxiety. Expect soreness and a relatively decrepit lifestyle for several weeks. At this point I believe all of the negatives are those inherent in an extensive surgery like mine and are not attributable to the doctor.

Name not provided

There is very little upon which my doctor could improve at this point. I woke up in lots of pain, but I am not sure it is fair to attribute that to the doctor or his staff.